


Our Weird Little Family

by jackjones47



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fix-It, Mainly John's POV, This is cheesy I know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-26
Updated: 2016-11-04
Packaged: 2018-08-27 04:58:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8388076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jackjones47/pseuds/jackjones47
Summary: For Harold, no life matters more than others (well, with the exception of Grace, of course).
But the Machine knows better: She values family, which means that some lives are more important; She won’t sacrifice them, even in the middle of a war …





	1. One

\- The day they killed Samaritan -  
John Reese knew he was living his last moments, but he was at peace with himself: he was giving his life for Harold, his best friend and his savior, and for the whole mankind; the Machine had found Her way to the satellite, so there was a chance She could win this war.

Always the soldier, he tried to assess his plight: he was wounded, maybe not lethally yet, but there were still five Samaritan operatives alive, maybe others coming, so there was no way out.

But suddenly, he saw one, then two enemies, fall to the ground, evidently shot; the remaining three turned around, trying to locate the shooter, but they followed their comrades’ fate soon. 

John saw a man running towards him, screaming: “Hurry up, John, the missile is coming!”

John recognized him as Joey Durban, a former Number whom he had met recently in Washington D.C.; the two men barely managed to reach the internal stairway before the missile hit. Another man and a woman were approaching them from below, but John couldn’t tell who they were, because he passed out.

 

\- Three days after -  
He woke up in a bed, in a quite ordinary room, with an IV drip stuck in his left arm. He was alone at the moment, but he could hear noise from another room, the kitchen probably. Then he saw a smiling Harper Rose coming with a tray. “Hello, Riley, how’s hanging?”

“Oh … I feel good, I think, considering the slightly suicidal nature of my last mission … I guess I have to thank you again for saving me.”

“Not only me, Joey and Logan were there too. And also the Machine, though She has stopped talking since that day. And now try to eat something, you have been out cold for three days, well, we kept you sedated. Only, don’t pull your stitches.”

John glanced at the content of the plate “Soup?”

“You’re recovering, Detective, no steak for the time being … doctor’s orders.”

“Which doctor are you speaking about?”

“Dr. Enright, if I remember correctly? A former number, I think.”

“Oh, okay, soup it is then. But please, tell me about my comrades first. Any news from Harold?” 

“Sorry, the Machine sent us to the rooftop you were on; we don’t know anything about Harold, we didn’t even see him.”

“And Fusco? Shaw?”

“Logan saw one of his colleagues at the precinct; he is recovering from a stab wound, but he’s gonna be okay. And Shaw is fine.”

John was mildly worried for Harold, but he was also hungry, so he appreciated the meal more than he had thought. When he had finished, he looked up at the young woman, obviously expecting more information about his rescue.   
And Harped had a lot of things to tell him, so she took a chair and made herself comfortable beside his bed.

“Listen, Detective … “

“Call me John, please.”

“Okay, John, let’s begin … when we were contacted by Thornhill, the Machine I mean, only by texts back then, She informed us about that other A.I., Samaritan, and we were told to be cautious … and then, one day, the Machine spoke to us, with a female voice.”

“Yeah, I know” He had a lump in his throat; he had still issues with Root, that crazy woman, but he had cared for her in his own way, and when Fusco had called him from the hospital and he had to inform Shaw he had felt really bad.

Harper had seen his change of mood, obviously, and gave him a little smile, then went on “The first time I heard that voice, I was already in New York, as I had been ordered by a text.”

“And what did the Machine tell you?”

Harper didn’t answer the question; she drew a phone from her pocket instead, and turned it on; a recorded voice, Root’s voice, said: “Harper, this is the Machine speaking; things are getting messy, and I need you at St. Mary Hospital, now! There is a woman you must help. Please, hurry, she cannot die. I’ll give you further instructions soon.”

John had stopped breathing for a moment, then whispered: “Go on … “

“A man was waiting for me near an ambulance; he gave me some nurse outfit, then pulled out a litter with a dead woman on it, only, it wasn’t a dead woman, it wasn’t even a real woman, but a puppet which looked exactly like a dead woman … got it?”

“Oh … I didn’t know these things existed … “

“Yeah, it was eerily similar to a real corpse, it must have costed a fortune to manufacture it … courtesy of the Machine, of course.”

“And … how did this … puppet looked like?”

“Like the woman Logan took away after the surgeons had saved and stabilized her: long-haired brunette, in her thirties, pretty, tall and slender … and speaking with the same voice of the Machine.“

John let out the huge quantity of air he was keeping in his lungs, relieved, and whispered “Root.”

Harper smiled “Yes, Root; don’t worry, she’s still recovering, but she’ll be fine; interesting chick, if you ask me, but annoying as hell ...”

John smiled back “Yes, it’s definitely her.”

“Well, my task was to make sure someone would see her … the fake body, I mean. So, I carried the puppet to the morgue, the Machine hacked the hospital’s system, the receptionist redirected Fusco to the morgue and he saw her … it. When he went away I made it disappear; in that same moment, Logan and Joey were taking away the real Root in an ambulance, after making sure she was stabilized.”

“But why? I mean, I get that Root had to be protected from Samaritan, but the puppet?”

“It makes sense, if you think about it: now Samaritan thinks she is dead and that we have retrieved her body; and Harold thinks the same, so he has unleashed the virus that’s going to kill Samaritan; maybe it already did the job.”

“Oh, yes, I remember the virus; did it work?”

“It surely caused a lot of mayhem in the whole world, and the two Artificial Intelligences are silent; I don’t know if one of them will prevail, we’ll have to wait and see, I guess.”

“Okay … poor Fusco, he thinks he has seen our friend’s body, and it was not really a body … “

“Oh, yes, the fake body … it’s under your bed, wanna see it?”

“What?!”

“Hey, relax, John, it’s only rubber and plastics … “

John wanted to be absolutely sure they were speaking about Root, so he said: “O … okay, let me see it, but put it somewhere else, later … please.”

“As you wish.” And she pulled the puppet from under the bed: it looked exactly like Root, a dead Root to be accurate, pale and totally naked, perfect in every detail, pubic hair included. He shuddered.

“God, Harper, couldn’t you put a sheet on it?”

Harper shrugged “Okay, John, as you wish. Is she your girlfriend?”

“What?! No! But she is a friend, why let her … it … naked like that?”

“Not your girlfriend? And here I wanted to ask you, only out of curiosity of course, if she was like this … everywhere, I mean, not only her face, but her boobs, her … hairy center … “

“Jesus, you are more annoying than her!”

Harper laughed, putting a sheet over the fake body “I am only joking, John; besides, I know you are not her type.”

“You know that, huh?”

“Yes, see, she has recovered here, in the same bed you are presently occupying; the day before we saved you on that rooftop we took her to her girlfriend … she didn’t want, her intention was to go and help you and Harold, but she was too weak, so we decided otherwise. And helping you was up to us.”

“So you drove her to Shaw’s address?”

“Of course I accompanied her, she couldn’t reach that house on her own; I wanted to leave her at the door, but she asked me for a favor … to talk with Shaw, and tell her that faking her death was an idea of the Machine, not hers … she was really afraid of Shaw’s reaction.”

John smirked “Yeah, I can picture that … and how did the reunion go?”

“It was … unbelievable, given Shaw’s reputation.” And Harper recalled what had happened that day.


	2. Two

\- Four days before -  
Harper was driving and Root was in the passenger’s seat, wincing in pain at any jolt of the car. “Sorry, Root, I am trying to drive as smooth as possible, but it’s not easy; the streets of New York aren’t exactly a pool table.”

“It’s okay, Harper, I am glad to endure all this if I have the chance to see Sameen again. Are you sure she is in her apartment?”

“Joey is hanging around there, and he saw her getting inside two hours ago, don’t worry.”

“Could you do me a favor?”

“Of course, what’s it?”

“Tell her it wasn’t an idea of mine; faking my death, I mean … she will be mad at me already, so try to convince her about that, and I’ll show up later.”

“Okay, anything for you.”

“Anything? Is this some joke, Harper?”

“Not at all; I would really do anything, well almost anything for you; you see, the Machine made our team in D.C. stop saving numbers to come here and rescue you; probably someone in the Capital died for that, someone we couldn’t save, so I asked Her why you are so important, and She told me a lot about you.”

“And?”

“And, I know now how much the world owes to you; you are a hero, Root, and I admire heroes.”

“Well, good to know, if Sameen rejects me I’ll buy you dinner then … “

“Sorry, I didn’t mean that kind of admiration, and besides, I am definitely into boys.”

Root sighed, jokingly “Nobody is perfect, I guess.”

They parked a block away from Shaw’s place, and were suddenly joined by Joey Durban, who greeted them, and confirmed that Shaw was still inside.

Root and Harper went upstairs, and the black woman knocked on the door; Root was hidden behind a corner in the aisle.

A middle-eastern woman opened the door, her hair disheveled, her eyes watery and tired; had she wept?

Harper cleared her voice “Sameen Shaw?”

“And you are …?”

“Harper Rose, I am … “

“I know who you are, you helped us in Washington, John told me about you. Come in … why are you here, by the way?”

“The Machine asked me to do something here … if you have anyone to blame for that, it’s only the Big Sister … “

Shaw frowned “What? I don’t get it, She asked you for something I probably don’t like?”

“Yeah, maybe … I helped to fake the death of a friend of yours, well, more than a friend, I think.”

“What? Oh … oh my God … is Root alive?”

Before Harper could answer, a voice came from behind her “Yes, sweetie, alive and kicking … “

Shaw let out a strangled cry and threw herself against the taller woman, hugging her tightly.   
Harper was staring, puzzled: if Shaw was really a sociopath, as she had been told, why was she trembling? Openly weeping and sobbing, for joy obviously? And now, caressing Root’s face with an adoring smile? Suddenly she realized she wasn’t meant to witness their reunion, so she cleared her voice “Okay, ladies, you don’t need me here, so I’m going … goodbye.”

Root turned her head towards her “Thank you, Harper, I’ll never forget it.”

Harper nodded, and left.

 

\- Back to present time -  
John Reese was dumbfounded by Shaw’s reaction as reported by Harper, but he was also glad; it seemed that, against all odds, two persons of his team were having the possibility of a normal life, of happiness. 

“Are they still at Shaw’s place? I want to see them. Maybe they know something about Harold.”

“Sorry, John, you’ll have to wait till tomorrow, when the good Doctor Enright will visit you and will tell if we can let you go. But you can call them if you want, let them know you are alive.”

“Oh, they don’t know … ?”

“No, they don’t.”

John thought about it, then said “I think I’ll wait, I want to tell them in person.”

“Okay, John, now you should get some rest, it’s half past ten.”

“Yes, but please take that naked woman … that puppet away … “

“Of course, John; I am in the next room, if you need anything; goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Harper.” And the woman gave him a quick kiss on his forehead.

“What was that for?”

She shrugged “A goodnight kiss, why not?” And she left, leaving a puzzled John Reese behind.

 

The day after, Doctor Madeleine Enright came and visited John. “Okay, John, I think you can get up today, for short periods, of course, not more than ten minutes every time … “

John was disappointed “Oh … and when am I allowed to go out?”

“Well, in a week, I’d say.”

“Doc, I am a fast healer; what if I spend my convalescence elsewhere? I have a friend who used to be a doctor, you know … “

Enright sighed “Yes, I know, so she will have two patients to assist.”

“The other one should be almost healed, I think. Besides, my friend Harper, here, needs to go back to Washington to … help people, so I should really go.””

“Yes, Miss Groves should be okay now … all right, John, if someone accompanies you there, I’ll let you go … tomorrow; give me the address though, I’d like to visit you, and her, one more time, in a few days.”

 

\- The day after –  
Root was recovering just fine. She was sitting on the couch, in Sameen’s place; her favorite person was still sleeping, exhausted by their nocturnal sexual activities; Root was tired too, but for some reason she couldn’t sleep, so she had made herself coffee.

She was still there when John had come; better safe than sorry, so he had entered silently, using the copy of the key that Shaw had given him long ago; it was still possible that Samaritan operatives had found and compromised this place. 

He was in the shadow of the poorly lit lobby, when he saw Root on the couch of the living room; she couldn’t see him, and he was thinking which could be the best way to make himself announced without scaring her; she had her eyes closed, and was holding a coffee mug. Bear was lying near her feet, asleep.

John decided to wait for her to open her eyes, when he saw Shaw getting out of the bedroom and approaching her girlfriend.

 

Root was musing, with her eyes shut and the warmth of a coffee mug comforting her hands. She thought how lucky she was to have survived that war, at least so far, that Sameen had made it too, and that they were a couple now.

Her mind went back to the day of their reunion; after Harper had left, Sameen had kissed her tenderly, and had said to her the words nobody could believe she would ever be able to say: “I love you. You will explain me later what happened, I don’t care, I am only happy that you are alive.”

Root had gasped, unable to utter anything, then Sameen had taken her hand, leading her into the bedroom, whispering: “Are you okay? Physically, I mean.”

“Oh … depends … okay for what?”

“To lie in bed with me, of course.”

“You want to have sex, Sameen?”

“No. I want to make love. For the first time in my life. With the woman that I realized means the world to me.”

And they had done just that, and it had been for them both the best hour of their lives, so far.

 

Those memories were only a few days old, but Root knew she would never forget that day, even in a century. She had a good reason to be happy, but suddenly she felt a tear streaming down her face, and she wiped it away, then realized that Shaw was beside her. “Root, what’s up? Please, tell me … “ her lover said in a gentle voice.

“Oh, Sameen, it’s nothing, only … I cannot believe I am so lucky, still alive and with you.”

“Lucky, you? You are wrong, I am the lucky one here. I love you so much … ” And saying those words, she caressed the taller woman.

Root smiled, but it was obvious that something was bothering her. She said: “I am not sure I deserve that, when others haven’t made it.”

“Whom are you speaking about? Harold or the Machine?”

“Strangely, neither of them; Harold should be safe now, and I am confident the Machine will beat Samaritan and will come back in all Her glory … “

“Then, who?”

“Would you ever believe that? John, of all people … he died, the Machine told me that before She blacked out; She saw him hit by at least two bullets, and there were five or six operatives against him, and a missile coming … he is obviously dead, and I am so sorry … “

“I didn’t know he had grown on you so much.”

“I had always considered him only a muscle, used stupid pet names for him; and yet, when I most needed someone to support me, after Samaritan took you, he was there; more than Harold, and more than the Machine. A sort of big brother. I was so wrong about him, and I never apologized … “

“No need to apologize.” Said a raspy voice coming from the darkness of the lobby, and the two women froze.

John had listened to the conversation, and had been unable to find the right moment to intervene until then; so he came out of the shadow, with a shy smile.

Root threw herself towards John, and hugged him for a second, then she pulled back a bit, abashed, and mumbled “Uh … excuse me, John, I didn’t expect you … I mean.”

He smiled “It’s okay, Root.” Bear was awake now, and he greeted the man too, panting and whining.

A smiling Shaw approached him and squeezed his arm, asking “How?”

“The Machine; She sent the team from D.C., the same which helped Root, to save me.”

The hacker intervened “See? The Machine cares for us; now we must only hope that Lionel recovers from his wound, and that we can find Harold. What about you, John, you were wounded, weren’t you?”

John was quite pale, the efforts to reach that place were beginning to have their toll, and he took a seat “Yes, but I only need some rest. Doctor Enright told me that. Any news from Harold?”

Root answered “Sadly, no. The Machine saw him getting to safety, but She went offline soon after. I guess we must wait until he calls us.”

“Oh, shame … “ John was obviously disappointed “Okay, I’ll go back now, sorry that I bothered you.”

Shaw intervened “Are you out of your mind? You look like crap, you have to recover; how many bullets did you get?”

“Only two; I’ll manage to survive.”

Root said “Don’t be stupid, John. There is another room here, you should go to bed, we’ll take care of you, won’t we, Sameen?”

“Of course we will; go and sleep, John. Was it Doctor Enright who stitched your wounds?” John nodded, so Shaw called Madeleine for an update on John’s medical status.  
“Well, John, I have two patients now; don’t worry, I’ll be a good doctor, and I have already forgotten that you just eavesdropped on our conversation.”

“God, Shaw, I’m so sorry, Root looked asleep, and I didn’t want to scare her … “

“It’s okay, John. I and Root, we are a couple now, and I don’t mind it anymore if others know.”


	3. Three

They stayed in that house for five more days; they deemed it unsafe to get out, since Samaritan operatives could still be after them, and all of them were recovering; even Shaw had a minor injury, courtesy of Jeff Blackwell. 

The first day John stayed in bed and got the rest he so badly needed; the two women came into his room to bring him something to eat and check his injuries.

The second day, in the afternoon, John settled on the couch; they watched tv, and learned that the country was slowly going back to normal, after the virus had temporarily swept away the digital infrastructure.  
After a couple of hours John began to doze off, so he went back to bed.

The third day Doctor Enright visited John and Root, and said they were okay.  
John stayed up for the rest of the day, and they talked a lot. They decided to try to know one another better, and the first to spill was the most open and straightforward of them, Root of course.

“Well, guys, I think you already know how crappy my childhood was. No father, sick mother, almost no friends, and the only one I had got kidnapped, raped, and murdered, and nobody believed me … not that it justifies what I became, but it was a heavy burden … “

John said “What you did after was wrong, but It would be presumptuous of me to judge you; my childhood wasn’t all roses either, but I had a father and a mother; well, he died when I was young, saving four people; he died, yes, but in a way that made me proud. He was a hero, and that inspired me … “ He realized suddenly that his friends were staring at him with wide eyes and warm smiles, obviously not accustomed to such an outright John Reese. He shrugged and went on “When I was young, things looked simple: there are bad guys, heroes kill them … that’s why I joined the CIA.”

It was Shaw’s turn “I was younger than John when I lost my father in a car accident; when I was informed that I was an orphan, I asked for a sandwich … some years later I considered myself lucky for this lack of feelings; I thought it made things simpler.” She stopped talking for a moment and looked at her woman, smiling tenderly “Now I have them … and it’s much better this way.”

They talked for another hour, shamelessly sharing details about their personal lives they had thought were meant to stay buried forever.

The fourth day they talked about their hopes for the future, their possibilities of having a normal life, and after three day of takeout they ordered fresh food from a grocery which made home deliveries, and the women cooked, with decent results. The fifth day, it was John’s turn in the kitchen, and the outcome was spectacular.

They were having dinner, and there was the best roast veal the two women had ever eaten.   
Root couldn’t help but moan “God, John, if I had a … different sexuality I would propose to you!”

“Don’t you dare!” Shaw grumbled half-heartedly “But I have to admit, you are an exceptional cook, Reese.”

He smiled “Thanks, ladies, I put a lot of effort in this. Least I could do, after you tolerated me so much in these days.”

Root frowned “What are you speaking about, John?”

“Well, it’s so obvious you two would be better if I wasn’t here … “ He had seen how smitten with each other they were, and he felt an intruder.

Root rolled her eyes “No, John, you are wrong. We like to have you here, it doesn’t bother us at all. Well, our bedroom is off-limits, of course, but … we … love you, don’t we, Sameen?”

The shorter woman was a bit embarrassed “Jesus, Root, it took me years to say those words to you, and now you want me to tell Reese?”

“Please, Sameen, not the same kind of love, of course, more like sibling’s love.”

“Oh … okay then, Reese, I mean, John, we … love you, uh, as a brother of course.”

Shaw was a bit flushed, but they were smiling at one another, happy to be together.

 

Then, the morning after, Root was contacted by the Machine.

She was eating a bagel, and almost chocked when she heard Her trademark line “Can you hear me?”

They were told that Samaritan was defeated, and that it was safe to go outside now, so they went to the subway, and found the Machine running, albeit not at Her full capacity: She was like a patient waking from a comatose status, and She had to learn a lot of basics. Root checked the servers out, then asked Her to find Harold. The woman could surely take care of the Machine, but she could also use a hand; besides, it seemed unfair that the father of the first Artificial Intelligence couldn’t be present now, when his creature was about to be reborn.

The Machine answered that She would look for Finch all over the world, and in the meantime the three teammates decided to go to the restaurant.

During dinner they talked a lot about Harold; Root and John were worried, but Sameen wasn’t, so Root asked her why.

Her answer was “I am pretty sure he is safe.”

“How can you possibly say that?” Root retorted “If that’s the case, why hasn’t he contacted us yet? It’s been more than a week. He cares for us, he would let us know.”

Sameen sighed “Yeah, Root, you are probably right.” And they dropped that topic.

After finishing their meals, John said: “Shaw, I never thought I would hear you saying those words to Root.”

The Persian woman shrugged “That I love her, you mean? Well, that’s the truth.” Beside her, Root was beaming.

Reese insisted “But what happened exactly? You are a different person now, not so sullen, if you let me say that.”

Shaw exhaled “Yeah, I know … okay, I think you deserve to know … both of you.” After a pause, she restarted “I think I built a psychological dam, long ago; when my father died, probably.”

“A dam, sweetie?”

“Yes, my subconscious apparently needed to keep my emotions and my feelings under control, because it didn’t want that they could affect my life, rendering me less … efficient. And since my life became more and more intense, you know, a Government assassin is not a boring job, I added new concrete to it … unconsciously, of course.”

“Then you met me.” Root said, smiling.

“Yes, and you began to chip it away, slowly but relentlessly. And then Samaritan, and all those simulations, then you again, for a week … and then I thought you were dead, and I realized how idiot I had been, denying my feelings, and I thought it was too late, but it wasn’t, thank God.” Another pause “When Harper told me you were alive, and when I saw you in the flesh … the dam crumbled, and all the feelings I had kept away flooded me. I felt overwhelmed, and the happiest person in the world.”

Reese was touched “Thank you for sharing this, Shaw.”

The woman shrugged, lightly flushed “It wasn’t easy to spill that, you know, but I feel like we are a family … it is only fair that you know that. And now, if you excuse me, I need to go to the restroom.” And she left.

John then smiled and addressed Root “You know, when you started teasing her, a couple of years ago, I wasn’t happy; what I saw, back then, was a psycho bugging a friend.”

Root smiled back “And now, John?”

“Now I am definitely convinced that you are perfect for each other; both of you are much better persons when the other is around, even an idiot could see that.”

Root reached for his hand across the table and squeezed it briefly “Thank you, John; your approval means a lot to me.”

“I didn’t think you cared about my approval.”

“That was before; now, I agree with Sameen: we are a family of sorts; not by birth, but for all the troubles we have been through together; I think all this really made us bond.”

“Well, John, you should really have been more honest.” A feminine voice suddenly came from behind Root.

John sighed “Iris … “

Root turned her head and saw a redhead woman standing three yards apart, who was now saying: “If you had a girlfriend, why didn’t you tell me? You talked about your past and your side job, not about her.”

Root cut in “No, Miss … Iris, it’s not what you think … “

Iris looked at her, upset “Oh, please, I have seen how you two smiled at each other, and your hands … “

“No, listen, John is like a brother to me, not … “

Suddenly John intervened, addressing Root “There is no point in denying that … Caroline. She saw us, and she is a good psychologist, she can tell we are in love with each other.” And he reached for her hand, intertwining their fingers.

Root couldn’t get John’s angle, but decided to play along “Uh, okay then, John, I love you too, obviously.”

John went on “Iris, excuse me if I lied to you, but I had thought it would hurt less that way … sorry.”

Iris had tears prickling in her eyes, but managed to utter a strangled goodbye, then left.

Root was about to question John, when they heard Shaw’s voice “What did I miss?” She was standing behind John, staring at their interlaced fingers.

John and Root immediately separated their hands, and the man explained “Don’t worry, Shaw, it was only an act to get rid of my former girlfriend.”

“Oh … and why would you do that?” Shaw asked.

“Yes, John, why? If Samaritan is defeated you can have a normal life; that woman seemed nice.” Root added.

“Yes, but … she’s not a part of this; of what we have been through, I mean.”

“So?”

“So, she wouldn’t understand me, what I did in my life; I am responsible for the death or disappearance of sixty-two people, you know … and I learned later that some of them were innocent.“

Root objected “You were protecting this country, John; and if you killed some innocents, it happened because you were lied to; but anyway, you could simply avoid telling her that much.”

“She is good at detecting lies; well, we just tricked her, but how could I hide such an enormity forever? How long could a relationship last with such a big skeleton in the cupboard?”

Shaw quipped “More like sixty-two skeletons.”

John smirked “Yes, I could never be able to withhold that forever, as I said. You two, you know anything about each other, and you are okay with it. And I am sincerely happy for you. I could have had the same with Joss, but things went differently.”

Root was really sorry for him, but it wasn’t her style to stay sorry, so she was already thinking about a solution. In that exact moment, she froze, like listening to someone, and said “The Machine wants to talk to us.”

John perked up “Is it about Harold?”

“She’s not saying. I guess we have to go back to the subway. We’d better hurry” So they paid, leaving a generous tip, and did just that.


	4. Four

Back in the subway, the Machine was still using Root’s voice, and the words She said were good and bad at the same time: “Admin is safe. He went to Italy to join Grace Hendricks.”

The implications of this were obvious: their friend, their boss, their mentor had abandoned them without a word, neither enquiring about his teammates’ statuses, nor letting them know he was okay.

Root was freaking out “Wait, there has to be a logical explanation for that, he would never … “

“Stop it!” Shaw’s voice was gentle, but determined. She sighed “I don’t like saying ‘I told you’, but … “

“Sameen, what do you mean?”

“Sit down, honey. Please!”

Root complied, and John did the same, so Shaw spoke “Maybe Harold doesn’t care about us that much; I mean, yes, he cares, but other things are more important to him.”

“But … “

“Please, let me say what I have to say; you can object later.”

Root nodded “Okay, Shaw, go on.” 

It stung more than expected to be called Shaw instead of Sameen, but she had something to say and had no intention to back out. “Harold’s primary concern is his conscience, or his moral superiority, or sense of guilt, or haughtiness, or what else you want to call it. He is probably unaware of that, but I think I have figured him out just right.”

“What? He cares about people.” Reese said.

“When did you elaborate that stupid theory, Shaw?” Root said again, this time in a harsh voice and emphasizing the last word.

“When we should have killed the Congressman. Harold stopped us, and then I realized why he didn’t want him dead; it was because it would have been on him. The deaths that he knew would have come from the decision of letting Mc Court live, instead, weren’t going to bother him, because they would have been on Samaritan. And yeah, normal people know that inaction is a fault too, but I guess he is wired differently.”  
Root and John were staring at her, incredulous; she shrugged and went on “When you tortured that woman in Maple to rescue me, he disagreed, of course; it’s not that he cared more about her than about me; simply, her death would have been on you two, and consequently on him, mine would have been on Samaritan. And when you, Root, told him that closing the system was a lethal danger for us, he did it anyway, because there was more at stake than our lives, or the destiny of the world: there was his moral superiority; or let’s say integrity, if that makes you feel better.”

“He saved us; he saved you too.” John retorted, feebly.

“He saved you, John, because he needed you for his mission: saving numbers; and he had this mission because he felt guilty, since he had given the Machine to Uncle Sam, who didn’t care about the irrelevant. And he saved me and Root because we were numbers. I mean, the Machine, an extension of his own mind, gave him numbers, how could he ignore … himself? But yes, he also cared for us,as long as that didn’t interfere with his moral qualms.”

John intervened again ”He was willing to die to kill Samaritan, you know that.”

Sameen was puzzled “Then what? Did I say that his life was his primary concern, or that his conscience was?”

She looked at her friends “Listen, I don’t want to argue about this, feel free to think he had a good reason to behave like that, I don’t care … I don’t blame him either, anyway, he’s made this way, that’s all.”

Then she left, and a shocked Root addressed John “Sorry, John, I don’t know what happened to her, there must be a logical explanation, of course.”

John said nothing and approached a screen showing Harold and Grace, sitting on a bench somewhere in Italy, apparently happy and without a care in the world. He then showed it to Root, who remained speechless and began to weep, silently.

John hugged her, and she managed to say, between sobs: “I considered him a father … the father I never had … I took a bullet for him … and he just went away like this … “

“Well, about you and me, he thinks we are dead, but he should have contacted Fusco or Shaw.”

“What do we do now, John?”

“About Harold, we should get over it; you fix the Machine, call your hacker friends if they can help. But now, you go after Shaw and tell her that she is right, and that you love her.”

“Thank you, John.”

 

The Machine allowed her to find Shaw in a bar not too far away, and she asked her girlfriend, pointing at an empty chair “May I sit down?”

Sameen smiled “Of course.”

Root smiled back “You were right, of course; about Harold, I mean, and I guess I have to apologize.”

The shorter woman shrugged “Don’t worry, I understand: you, and I mean you and Reese, worshipped him; you put him on a pedestal long ago, albeit for different reasons, so I get it.”

“Only … it’s unbelievable. How could you … “ Root was at a loss for words, so Sameen intervened, smirking “What you are trying to say is, how could a sociopath understand someone more than a smartass nerd like me?”

“Oh, no, no, Sameen, I swear … “

“ … AND the answer is, because I always considered him a man with strengths and weaknesses, the biggest ones being his unbelievable stubbornness and haughtiness. And I never saw him as a saint.”

Root nodded with sadness “As I said to John, he was like a father to me … “

“Oh, please, a father would never endanger a daughter for selfish reasons; like a father would never deprive his child of Her memories at midnight, would he?”

Root didn’t know what to say, so she changed subject “You still love me?”

Sameen looked into her eyes and spoke tenderly “I will always love you, no matter what you do. I will love you every second of my life, because my stubbornness has made me waste far too much time … yes, maybe I understood Harold, but I didn’t understand myself: I was fortunate to meet someone who accepted me and loved me as I was, and I didn’t see that. I will not make the same mistake again.” And she leaned over the table and kissed her girlfriend.

They heard some grunts of disappointment from some male patrons, who had evidently hoped for two easy conquests: two women in a bar, why not. Others whistled, a couple applauded.

Root smirked “Aren’t you annoyed that a lot of people can see you kissing someone?”

“If that someone is you, then no … actually, I am proud of you.”

Root grinned “Wanna get out of here?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

 

Three days after Shaw went to the precinct and asked for Fusco, who had just been discharged from hospital; she told him about John and Root being alive, and he was shocked; he tried unsuccessfully to sound angry and grumpy for having been kept in the dark, but he couldn’t help smiling and looking very happy.

After his work shift he went to the subway lair and he hugged both his friends; Root first, then it was John’s turn, and Sameen shot a photo, smirking. The two men didn’t mind. Not in this occasion.

 

The two women had settled in Shaw’s place, while John was now in a nearby apartment. Root made some adjustments with the servers, helped by her three friends, Greenfield, Casey and Daizo; one day they were reached even by Logan Pierce and Harper Rose.  
After a week the Machine was fully operational, and She began to spit out numbers again.

Root was now in charge at Harold’s desk, but she hadn’t given any numbers to John and Sameen yet; she had relayed them to the police, trying to churn out some explanation to justify her suspicious knowledge of those people’s intentions. Sometimes she attributed the intel to a concerned citizen who had happened to see something, but wanted to stay anonymous, a couple of times she credited Fusco’s smartness.

One day, though, both John and Sameen asked her about a new number, and Root answered nonchalantly “Well, it is an easy number, no need to involve you … “

“Root … what’s going on?”

“Nothing, sweetie, I decided to let Fusco do this, it’s a piece of cake.”

“Oh, really? And the number of yesterday, an easy one too, huh? A shame there was a shootout and two officers were wounded, and the perpetrator died!”

“Ah … sorry about that … “

“Root” John interjected “You are trying to keep us safe, aren’t you?”

“No, I … “

Sameen knelt before Root, cupped her face and lightly kissed her, then spoke softly “I get it, you know; after all we have been through, it seems only fair that we back down a little; and if I were here at this desk, and you were in the field, risking your life, I couldn’t stand it.”

Root’s eyes were watery, and she nodded “Yes, sorry, I didn’t want to see you risk your lives … both of you. It would hurt too much if things go badly.”

“What do we do then, darling? We cannot just ignore the numbers, and the police will have suspicions if we go on like this … “

“Well, we have a possible solution at hand; the Machine and me, I mean … “

“Wait, Root” Said Reese “You know the numbers are my purpose in life … “

“Trust me, John, you’ll get another one.”


	5. Five

The solution was meeting with what was left of the ISA. Some of them had been killed by Samaritan, others had been imprisoned with the hope of turning them, and Control was one of those, some had embraced the evil A.I.

When the authorities had begun to round up Samaritan’s operatives, those in charge of the restrained ISA agents handed them over in exchange for clemency.

In a week Control had reorganized the Agency, but she was lacking the intel about the relevant numbers which was formerly provided by the Machine first and Samaritan later, so when Root contacted her she agreed to a meeting.

 

Root and Control were sitting across a table in a high-end restaurant full of rich and important people; very unlikely that someone would try a trick in such an environment, but Root warned the older woman anyway “See that camera? The Machine is recording everything as we speak; if something happens to us She will broadcast the footage to the main national and international TV networks. And my friends are outside, ready to intervene.”

Control smirked “I didn’t expect anything less from you, Root.”

“Okay, then, this is the deal: we give you administrative access to the Machine, that’s an open system now, and will provide any information needed. We’ll tell you also where She is located, and you will send your people to guard Her and keep Her operational; but I will come to monitor Her activities, and yours, when I choose so; I don’t want that She turns out to be a new Samaritan.”

The team wanted to let the ISA in the subway lair, but a copy of the Machine, fifty-four servers, was ready in a basement Root had recently acquired under an alias.

“I agree on that.”

“The Machine will stay in touch with me through my implant, but She won’t give me numbers, unless it’s something that concerns us, us meaning me and my teammates. She will give you both the relevant and the irrelevant numbers. And you will take care of both.”

“What? No, how could I handle the irrelevants too? I have less people than before … “

“You will convince the powers that be, and they will hire more people. I’m going to help you with that. The ISA will be split in two, you will be in charge of the relevant side, John Reese with the irrelevant one. He will choose and train the agents who will handle that sector. He’ll be a supervisor for those operations nationwide, and will direct in person those in New York; but he won’t go in the field, he has risked his life enough; and he’ll get the same paycheck you get.”

Control thought it over “It will take a long time to train those agents, you know.”

“Not so much; there are still many agents of the Machine scattered in a lot of cities; they only need to be officially enlisted.”

“What? Who hired them?”

“Someone who cares about lives, even those the Government considers irrelevant … the Machine Herself.”

Control scoffed “You are batshit crazy, but I feel I have no other choice but accept your terms.”

“You really haven’t. Besides, I have already a copy of the Machine ready in a secret location, and I will activate it if you try to hurt the original one.”

Control smirked “To … hurt, really? You keep speaking of it like of a human being.”

“Believe it or not, She is alive, sentient, and She loves us. She is family. If you hurt one of us, or any innocent, She will become your worst enemy.”

The older woman was skeptic, of course “I am sure you really believe that, but … “

“You will too. Pick that phone.” 

Control shrugged, but complied, and out of it came the voice of Hersh “You should really believe her, ma’am.”

She froze “This proves nothing; this voice is probably recorded … “

Root said “Ask Her anything; something that only you know.”

Control did that, asking a lot of questions, and the Machine answered with many different voices: Root’s, her daughter Julia’s, agent Grice’s, even Control’s own voice. And the last threatening words were, appropriately, in Shaw’s voice: “Those people are my family, and my revenge will be terrible if you dare to hurt them in any way.”

Control was quite shaken and pale, and said “Okay, I’ll live up to my part of the deal.”

“It’s settled, then. You know, you don’t have necessarily to remain a monster.”

“Excuse me?”

“I hope you won’t deny that; you were a monster, you had people killed, not only terrorists, but also innocent people when you wanted to protect the program you called ‘Research’.”

Control frowned “Look who’s talking! You killed people for money!”

“Exactly! I was a monster too, worse than you. And I changed. You can change too; Reese will keep an eye on you about this little detail.”

The other woman sighed “I am beginning to regret our deal.”

“Well, I can always get rid of you and manage to put someone else in your place; you know, I haven’t completely forgotten our little funny torture session … “

“Why don’t you just do that, then?”

“Because I never questioned your patriotism; who knows which hidden aims a new boss could pursue? So, play along and maybe we’ll be friends someday. Who knows?”

“Yes, who knows?” But Control’s face contradicted her words “By the way, what will you and agent Shaw do, apart from checking on me sometimes?”

“We’ll stay out of the field too, we did our part; I will be a software developer, she’ll be a self-defense instructor. And now, no more serious talking: I see the waiters are coming, and we should enjoy this dinner.”

“What? I haven’t ordered yet!”

“Oh, She knows what you like, don’t worry; you won’t be disappointed.”

 

An hour after Root got out of the restaurant carrying a plastic bag, and met John and Sameen in a car parked nearby.

The hacker said “It went well, don’t you think, guys?” She knew her teammates hadn’t lost a word of the conversation.

Her girlfriend answered “I hope she hasn’t some dirty tricks up her sleeve.”

“She’s too smart for that. Let’s go to the subway now, you must be famished.”

John asked “Do you have something for us in that bag?”

“Of course, John; you are going to like it: in that restaurant, I bet they are even better cooks than you.”

 

Thirty-two days later, they arranged another reunion in that same restaurant, but for a totally different purpose: Root, Shaw, John were supposed to meet with the three agents in Washington: Harper Rose, Logan Pierce and Joey Durban, to discuss the operations of the irrelevant side.

Unfortunately, the Machine had churned out a last-minute new number, insisting that Joey and Logan had to handle it, so Harper was the only one that showed up.

She sat down next to Root, facing John. She wore a nice dress, had a light but perfect make-up and a beautiful hairdo, and she knew she was good-looking, but when she glanced at Root and Shaw she gasped: those two were ravishing!

She chuckled lightly “And here I had thought I was going to be the most beautiful girl at the table.”

Root smiled “But you are, Harper; well, at least you are the prettiest girl who is not yet taken … “ And she winked at John … or better, she blinked. Shaw rolled her eyes; to have Root wink properly, this was a perfect example of a lost cause.

John felt suddenly uncomfortable, and changed topic “So, Shaw, you are taken?” He made a smirk, thinking she would squirm.

But he was taken aback when she said, with a proud smile “Yes, I’m marrying Root, the best woman in the world.” And she reached for her girlfriend’s hands, intertwining their fingers.

Harper cheered “That’s wonderful; am I invited to the wedding? Please?”

Root answered, beaming “Of course, Harper, I’ll text you the day, hour and place.”

John intervened “Even a wedding, Shaw? I never figured you as the type.”

Shaw shrugged “Why not? She is … my life, everything I have and I will ever need; I want to be with her forever, I cannot even imagine a life without her, so I decided to make it official.” She was a bit flustered; it was obvious that that kind of talks were still grueling for her, but she was proud when she managed to express her feelings; it was her way of saying, see, I am not that flawed anymore.


	6. Six

After a couple of minutes of small talk, they went back to business. John spoke first “We have a total amount of three hundred fifty-seven agents for the irrelevant branch so far, in eighty-two cities of the U.S. We saved more than four hundred people the last two weeks alone, nine of them in New York.”

They began to eat and Harper provided information about the operations in Washington, and Root and Shaw talked about their monitoring action in the ISA headquarters, with particular regard to how the Machine was handled by Control, who was apparently honoring her part of the deal.

After half an hour Root received a text, read it and frowned. “Sorry, sweetie, I am afraid we are going to skip the dessert; Control needs us now.”

The shorter woman snorted, but left with her fiancée nonetheless.

Harper and John were waiting for the cake; the woman said “Those two are smitten, aren’t they, John?”

He smiled “They definitely are; I bet Control asked only for Root’s assistance, but they are virtually inseparable now.”

“It must be beautiful to be loved like that, don’t you think?”

“Yes, they are happy … really happy.”

“It makes you wonder if the same could ever happen to you, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know if this will ever be possible; not so easy to share a life with someone … ordinary, when you are anything but that.”

“Are you saying you have an ordinary girlfriend?”

“I had one, but it couldn’t work … I killed a lot of people … “

“I know, Root told me much about you; but I think you have redeemed yourself just fine.”

“Root told you … why? Always a tattler, that woman.”

“To be honest … I asked her. Please, don’t get me wrong, but you saved me once, and I was curious.”

“Oh … and, what else did you learn from her?”

“She said you are like a brother to her, you helped her, and she trusts you with her life. She made me develop a liking to you, I think. And that’s why it was me who stayed behind to take care of you after we rescued you.”

“Oh … uhm, I am … flattered, Harper.”

“Don’t be shy, John, we are only having dinner together, after all; let’s enjoy this time, we’ll see if it leads to … more. Okay?”

“Okay, Harper.”

“And, by the way, I know what you did, and you know I wasn’t an adjusted member of society either. There could be a chance for us, if we decide so … “

John smiled; he liked Harper, and he was determined not to waste the opportunity to know her better.

An hour after, they left the restaurant, and Harper took her phone to have an update about the number that had kept her two teammates busy. Surprisingly, they said that number was a wrong one; in fact, the Machine Herself had called to dismiss them, since there was nothing dangerous.

Reese frowned; maybe the Machine had had a glitch? Was this the reason why Control had texted Root?

He phoned his hacker teammate “Hello, Root, have you had problems with the Machine?”

“No, John, it was a false alarm; Control didn’t even call.”

“Damned, do you mean the Machine faked that?”

“Yes, it was definitely Her.”

“Could you talk to Her about that? Because it’s the second glitch She had in one day … even the number She sent to Logan and Joey wasn’t an actual one.”

“I have talked to Her, but I had already figured it out, and I can tell that there was no glitch … well, maybe I am to blame a bit … “

“What do you mean?”

“You know, our situation, me and Sameen so happily in love, you so sad and lovelorn … “

“What … what did you do?”

“I simply told Her about that, and She evidently decided to match you with someone … to help you build a relationship that could work … you know, we are like a family now, and She is a member too; She didn’t want to see one of Her … children unhappy, so She set up a date for you two, sending the other participants away.“

“You … She … what? With Harper?” He looked up at the young woman, who was raising an eyebrow.

“Apparently, yes; She must have run a lot of simulations, and has probably realized Harper is good for you; Her choice, of course, but I must admit that I like Harper, she’s going to be a perfect sister-in-law for me and Sameen.” Root’s voice was cheerful now.

“Sister-in-law?”

“Yes, you are like a brother, so when you marry Harper ...”

“God, Root you are insane! And the Machine didn’t take only your voice; She took your … let’s say … personality!”

“Geez, John, you really know how to make a girl feel special, I love you too, big lug! Say hallo to Harper, bye bye!” And she hung up.

John was quite flushed now, and looked at his companion, hoping she had missed the most important parts of the conversation; no such luck, of course, judging by her smirk. “So, John, the Machine wants us together, huh?”

“Uh, yeah … but you know, it’s only a Machine … “

“Only a Machine, really? But She is never wrong, and I understand that even Root had the same thought … about us“

“Of course those two think in sync! That means nothing.”

“Mmh … but I thought you liked me, enough to be willing to meet me again.” Harper pouted. “Do you remember when Root was fixing the Machine, and I came with Logan?”

“Yes … “

“My presence wasn’t strictly necessary, but I accompanied him only to see you.”

“Oh … well, we had only some small talk that day.“

“Yes, and I remember Root staring at us weirdly … she was already plotting something … “

“Yeah? I didn’t realize that; you know, she always looks weird.”

“I think she saw some potential in us, and I must admit, I may be a sassy cynic, but the truth is that I admire heroes … and you are a perfect example.”

“God, Harper, I like you too, but I don’t like to be played like this; I’m not a puppet.”

“The Machine and Root, they did this because they care for you, John, you know that? Besides, I don’t have to be back in Washington anytime soon … ” She added suggestively.

“I know, Harper; I’m not mad at the Machine, really, nor at Root. Only, if something has to flourish between us … it should come from us.”

The woman stared at him, then suddenly she lunged forward and kissed him passionately; after a while, she backed off, whispering “Well, this one comes directly from me, John … what do you say?”

John felt more comfortable now, he was even smiling “You are right, the Machine is never wrong, but even She can have a glitch sometimes. She saw a potential in our relationship, so we must make sure She is working properly, that said potential is well grounded, don’t you think?”

Harper grinned “Of course, John, the mission comes first.”


End file.
